Fifty shades of green and blue: autopsy findings after administration of xenobiotics.

Unusual findings during an autopsy may come from peculiarities in the position, shape, size, weight, consistency, smell or color of organs. The following study was triggered by an autopsy case in which an unusual blue-green discoloration of organs, which changed during the autopsy, was noticed. A review of the local autopsy database, selected cases including the antemortem clinical documentation and the literature has been performed to clarify the etiology of these conspicuous discolorations and to evaluate their diagnostic value.

Tendons and table salt: A recipe to preserve human DNA.

For disaster victim identification, hundreds of samples of human remains have to be extracted from human bodies rapidly for later DNA analysis, often in situation with high humidity, high temperature and no access to cooling facilities. Genetic typing of these samples may be challenging due to degradation of DNA. Until today, bone and teeth are the preferred biological matrix for genetic identification of decomposed human remains.

Catch me if you can-emission patterns of human bodies in relation to postmortem changes.

The present study examines for the first time the emission patterns and olfactory signatures of 9 complete human corpses of different stages of decomposition. Air sampling was performed inside the body bags with solid sorbents and analysed by coupled gas chromatography-mass spectrometry after thermal desorption (TD-GC-MS). Furthermore, odour-related substances were detected by gas chromatography-olfactometry (GC-O).